Filmed by Bike: The World's Best Bike Movieshttp://filmedbybike.org
Fri, 18 Aug 2017 02:35:09 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.6Make Your Escape!http://filmedbybike.org/2017/08/09/make-your-escape/
Wed, 09 Aug 2017 16:17:02 +0000http://filmedbybike.org/?p=9728Life in the city can be hectic and creative minds need room to breathe. That’s why we’ve teamed up with a congregation of some of our favorite companies to help you make an escape and find your nature in the city. Together, we assembled a package with everything you need to recharge your senses, invigorate...

Life in the city can be hectic and creative minds need room to breathe.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with a congregation of some of our favorite companies to help you make an escape and find your nature in the city. Together, we assembled a package with everything you need to recharge your senses, invigorate the imagination, dream big and wide.

One lucky person will win it all, including a folding bike from Bike Friday!

ENTER TO WIN

WATCH THE VIDEO

]]>Filmmaker Spotlight: The Bikes of Wrathhttp://filmedbybike.org/2017/05/02/filmmaker-spotlight-charlie-turnbull/
Tue, 02 May 2017 09:10:13 +0000http://filmedbybike.org/?p=9586“I think that right now, given recent events in the USA, our documentary is particularly important because it shows the incredible generosity and kindness of everyday Americans. There are a lot of elements to the film – cycling, adventure, music, literature – but I think it is ultimately about the goodness of ordinary people,” says...

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“I think that right now, given recent events in the USA, our documentary is particularly important because it shows the incredible generosity and kindness of everyday Americans. There are a lot of elements to the film – cycling, adventure, music, literature – but I think it is ultimately about the goodness of ordinary people,” says Australian filmmaker Charlie Turnbull

Charlie says the concept for his film The Bikes of Wrath slowly evolved over a three year period. “My good friend Leon Morton and I really love the novel The Grapes of Wrath and decided one evening that it would be an adventure to retrace the route the Joad family took from Oklahoma to California in the late 1930s. For some reason we decided that it would be fun to do so on bikes. From there we invited Cam Ford, a Melbourne-based filmmaker, and he suggested we film the whole thing. At that stage we got a crew together and developed the idea a little further to include the limitations on money and the street performing.”

About the Project

The team rode 50 miles a day, bikes weighed down by cameras, instruments and solar panels, and most of them rather unfamiliar with bike travel. To make this entire concept even more authentic to the original story, the team challenged themselves to survive off a total budget of $420 – the modern day equivalent of the meagre $18 the Joad family had when they set out. They then decided to busk along the way for additional funds – though most of the guys had never before played an instrument.

A Rewarding Journey

“Heat, exhaustion and hunger all made the trip fairly difficult at times, but it was the combination of these things and then finding the energy to film the adventure that was probably the most challenging component.” Charlie says. “I think the most rewarding part of the whole project has been to see what started as a far-fetched idea evolve into what I believe is an engaging and important documentary.”

Crowdfunding the Film

A trailer for the film is now out – which we’ll be showcasing in the festival – and the group has crowd funded to launch the full production. Charlie says they are thankful for the support they’ve been able to gather so far. The trailer alone is an excellent piece, and we can’t wait to see the full film.

Meet Charlie in Portland!

Charlie will be in Portland for this year’s festival and will be joining us on the Filmmaker Ride and various functions throughout the weekend.

]]>Filmmaker Spotlight: Bidit Royhttp://filmedbybike.org/2017/04/25/filmmaker-spotlight-bidit-roy/
Tue, 25 Apr 2017 09:06:53 +0000http://filmedbybike.org/?p=9576Bidit Roy is no stranger to community activism and social change efforts, but he had never thought of the bicycle as a tool for bringing together people from different backgrounds, until he met bicycle filmmaker Shailesh Krishna. Bidit says Shailesh also had a child-like tinkering inquisitiveness that charmed him. “All of this coupled with his...

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Bidit Roy is no stranger to community activism and social change efforts, but he had never thought of the bicycle as a tool for bringing together people from different backgrounds, until he met bicycle filmmaker Shailesh Krishna. Bidit says Shailesh also had a child-like tinkering inquisitiveness that charmed him.

“All of this coupled with his incredible knowledge about bicycles, liberal thinking and his highly personalized bicycle crafting got me quite interested,” Bidit says. “I decided to make a film for the rest of the world to see, motivate and get inspired.”

Bidit, who is from Pune in western India, says he loves the entire process of filmmaking “I enjoy the whole process of hunting stories, getting to know the subjects, the shoot and – most important of all – crafting it all together in the editing stage.

A Solo Filmmaker

Bidit works alone, which he says has its challenges as well as rewards.

“I come across various aspects of the process and that’s a huge learning experience for me. As hard as it has been, exploring things on my own has also been quite interesting. Filmmaking demands patience and persistence, something which I am always learning from.”

He did, however, employ some assistance in filming “The Bicycle Maker”. Bidit says in order to achieve fluid shots when filming his subject in motion on a bike, he hopped on a bike with a friend, and strapped himself to the rider so he could easily film without fear of falling off.

Feel Good Films

Considering the breadth of complex topics Bidit covers in his films, it is impressive that he works solo. Many of his pieces profile working on positive change – they are uplifting stories of hope for a better world. We asked Bidit to describe a few of them.

“Bamboo Lawada” is the story of Sunil and Nirupama Deshpande, a couple living in a remote village who have spent the past 20 years empowering and uplifting the tribal community with upskilled traditional bamboo craftsmanship. Using technological know-how they produce an array of articles ranging in size from as small as a paperweight to as big as a full fledged house.

“On the Church Trail” is an hour long documentary which explores the lesser known heritage stories of the Churches of Pune. These churches have played a pivotal role in influencing the course of history as they provided spiritual nourishment to the Christian soldiers who had come to the region.

“Madhur Bhav” profiles Anjali Deshpande, Founder, AJ Foundation, who has embarked on a life-long journey to give love and care to the elderly people looking for community living facilities.

Next Up From Bidit Roy

Expect more bike movies from Bidit. His next piece, due out this year, is a profile of a vintage bike collector with historically significant pieces that date back to the Second Wold War.

More About Bidit

When he’s not busy making films, Bidit is actively engaged in his community. “I contribute a lot of my time in community welfare activities,” he says. “I even founded a small initiative called Make Your Own Movement that provides a platform for people from all walks of life to come, lead and execute their noble ideas for social change.”

]]>Filmmaker Spotlight: Sonja Rohlederhttp://filmedbybike.org/2017/04/20/filmmaker-spotlight-sonja-rohleder/
Thu, 20 Apr 2017 09:10:52 +0000http://filmedbybike.org/?p=9568As soon as we saw Sonja Rohleder’s film “Dame mit Hund”, which translates as “Walk the Dog”, we were captivated. The animated piece has a quirky story and an intriguing minimalist animation style that stole our hearts. Sonja works with a Berlin animation collective called Talking Animals. We asked Sonja to tell us a little...

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As soon as we saw Sonja Rohleder’s film “Dame mit Hund”, which translates as “Walk the Dog”, we were captivated. The animated piece has a quirky story and an intriguing minimalist animation style that stole our hearts.

Sonja works with a Berlin animation collective called Talking Animals. We asked Sonja to tell us a little bit more about her work.

FBB: Your style of animation is so wonderful and minimalist. Much like reading a book, it allows the viewer to fill in so much of the visual story with our minds. How did this style come about for you?

SONJA: The short answer is that I wanted to engage the audience and I wanted everybody to see something different in their own mind. That was my aim but I didn’t know if it would work so for me it started as an exciting experiment.

It always interesting to see what the others [at Talking Animals] are doing. When I saw all the beautiful details of a 3D animation, I thought to myself: that’s great but the picture is done and there is nothing to do for the audience except for enjoying it. So, I thought, what can I do that might have a different approach to films like this?

FBB: How did you conceive of the storyline for your piece?

SONJA: The film started out with a different storyline but in the test screenings I notice that not everybody understood what was happening. Which can happen if you chose a minimal style like this. So I kept all the characters but tried to use the dog as a “red line” that the viewer can follow so they wouldn’t be to confused. And the bike of course is the finale of the story. So the second version of the story was the final one.

FBB: From where do you draw your inspiration?

SONJA: Puh. Everything. I listen to podcasts a lot, I follow the work of illustrators like Hannibal&Hvass, my colleagues at the studio and my film guru Gil Alkabetz. I enjoy going back to the abstract animation (in german “Absoluter Film”) which was a movement of abstract films in the 1920s. I like commercial and non-commercial work.

FBB: What are you working on next?

SONJA: We have just finished 11 short films for a museum in Germany. The films are about the reformation between 1530 and 1547. Now I’ll will go back to work on my next short film.

Sonja says that when she’s not busy working in her films, she enjoys people, love, food, coffee, the experience of seeing films with others, thrift shopping and politics “these days, of course.”

“Every film is an new little world in itself,” Sonja says. “You never know where you end up with.”

We can’t wait to share Sonja’s piece with you at this year’s festival.

]]>Filmmaker Spotlight: Félix Le Blanchttp://filmedbybike.org/2017/04/12/filmmaker-spotlight-felix-le-blanc/
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 23:50:40 +0000http://filmedbybike.org/?p=9556For quite some time, a Malagasy (from Madagascar) trialist named Dada had been filming his bike tricks and posting them on social media. French filmmaker Félix Le Blanc somehow stumbled upon Dada’s simple smartphone videos, and was mesmerized. He couldn’t stop watch them, and soon a long-distance friendship was formed. It wasn’t until a while...

For quite some time, a Malagasy (from Madagascar) trialist named Dada had been filming his bike tricks and posting them on social media. French filmmaker Félix Le Blanc somehow stumbled upon Dada’s simple smartphone videos, and was mesmerized. He couldn’t stop watch them, and soon a long-distance friendship was formed.

It wasn’t until a while later that Félix made his way to the island of Nosy Be, off the coast of Madagascar, to connect up with Dada at a carnaval. “We were lucky to meet up. Madagascar is very big and with no real roads traveling takes a long time.” Dada brought along 15 friends, which Félix says greatly contributed to the success of the film, “It brings so much positivity and happiness to this piece,” he says.

Félix says he was excited to profile Dada to showcase that if people have a strong enough dream, they can realize it. In the film, Dada’s friends talk about how they are inspired by his strong riding skills, and Dada’s bright spirit shines through.

Most of Félix’s work is about downhill racing for the Downhill World Cup, so this project was completely different. He says he had to get inventive with how he captured the shots as the trialists performed tricks. “I just tried to be as creative as the guys were,” he says.

The entire piece was filmed in about three hours, and Félix hopes to do future projects with Dada. “This was one of my favorite project so far because it was so intense and so real.”

]]>Host The World’s Best Bike Filmmakershttp://filmedbybike.org/2017/03/24/host-the-worlds-best-filmmakers-join-our-homestay-program/
Fri, 24 Mar 2017 17:38:56 +0000http://filmedbybike.org/?p=8334Our Homestay Program is a cool opportunity to get to know filmmakers from around the world. MORE INFO

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Filmmakers from all over the world are coming to Portland for Filmed by Bike!

Our Homestay Program is one of the most rewarding ways to be involved in the festival. Homestays give filmmakers the opportunity to connect with locals, have a comfortable place to rest their head at the end of a long day and a chance to see the real Portland.

What You Get

The chance to meet inspiring, creative filmmakers from all over the world

Festival Pass – unlimited access to Filmed by Bike

Access to the Filmmaker Bike Ride + Tour

Access to the Filmmaker Q+A+ Much more!

What You Provide

A comfortable place to sleep, preferably in a private room or secluded area.

A friendly face and someone who can answer questions about Portland.

Most filmmakers will visit for a few days during the festival season.

That’s about it! Anything above and beyond this you want to do is completely up to you. We provide other resources for the filmmakers.

Apply to Be a Host

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More Info

]]>Seeking PAID Performers!http://filmedbybike.org/2017/03/07/seeking-performers/
Tue, 07 Mar 2017 20:58:36 +0000http://filmedbybike.org/?p=9340The 15th Annual Filmed by Bike features the world’s best bike movies with a huge film festival in Portland, Oregon every May, then Filmed by Bike On Tour takes our movie collections all over the world to build bike community and inspire people to ride. Perform for a Huge Street Party Crowd! Filmed by Bike...

The 15th Annual Filmed by Bike features the world’s best bike movies with a huge film festival in Portland, Oregon every May, then Filmed by Bike On Tour takes our movie collections all over the world to build bike community and inspire people to ride.

Perform for a Huge Street Party Crowd!

Filmed by Bike is an amazing arts and culture event for Portland. Our Opening Night Street Party is a celebration of Portland’s diverse creativity. We love bringing exciting entertainment to our Main Stage outside.

Celebrate True Portland Creativity

The nation is going through hard times. Portland is going through hard times. It’s important for us to come together as a community and to celebrate community trough the arts.

Now more than ever, we’re working hard to line a diverse array of entertainers who exemplify what it makes to be creatively awesome in Portland.

Details

Apply with our form and we’ll be in touch by mid April

We’re looking for acts that are upbeat and interesting

Must be relevant for a Friday night outdoor party

We are a not-for-profit endeavor, and as such as have a very small budget.

Apply

]]>2017 Filmed by Bike Poster by Mike King of Crash Americahttp://filmedbybike.org/2017/03/01/2017-filmed-bike-poster-mike-king-crash-america/
Wed, 01 Mar 2017 19:44:07 +0000http://filmedbybike.org/?p=9296About This Year’s Poster Mike King has made more rock and roll posters than anyone in America, and now he has also designed a Filmed by Bike poster. His new book Maximum Plunder features 1,000 pieces of his work over the years. Too bad the book was compiled before our poster was released! The poster...

Watch the Video About Mike’s Work

]]>Promote Filmed by Bike!http://filmedbybike.org/2017/02/28/promote-filmed-bike/
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 19:52:53 +0000http://filmedbybike.org/?p=9257Postering is one of the most important ways we showcase our poster and showcase Filmed by Bike to a broad audience who may not know about the festival. This is an extremely important role and we’d love to have your support! Spend a Day Around Town! Get your volunteering tackled early so when the big...

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Postering is one of the most important ways we showcase our poster and showcase Filmed by Bike to a broad audience who may not know about the festival. This is an extremely important role and we’d love to have your support!

Spend a Day Around Town!

Get your volunteering tackled early so when the big event comes you’re free to party. We’re looking for just a few volunteers to help put up posters around town to promote Filmed by Bike.

This is a fun, easy position. Select your neighborhood, load up your bag then head out for a day of fun on two wheels (or drive, we don’t judge!). It’s a cool way to explore Portland, maybe even select a neighborhood you want to get to know better! Stop for coffee, grab a doughnut, hit up the food carts and window shop as you go.

How Postering Works

You can pick up posters at our Headquarters – 1158 NE Morton Street. Rain or shine, day or night – they’ll be outside waiting for you.

You will visit those locations, and add in new locations – this is a huge part of the project as new awesome places are popping up all the time*

You send your list to Cory to show what happened at each location

Once Cory reviews your completed list, she will send you a code to get into Filmed by Bike for free!

Tell all your friends about Filmed by Bike and rally your festival posse

Come join us at the festival!

* Our lists have been carefully curated over the years to include the best locations with high visibility.

Important notes

This is a fun tradition we’ve been doing since the early days of Filmed by Bike. We’ve visited some of these places for 12 years! Thank you for being on our team for this – it means a lot to us!

Please bring your own tape and pins.

No need to talk with people at each shop. The lists are set up with locations you can simply walk into and put up a poster. If you feel more comfortable getting permission, you can, but it’s not necessary unless otherwise noted on your list.

Please do not discuss the details of the festival. It’s complex and we don’t want you to get stuck answering a million questions, that would take too long. You can simply say, “I’m helping with the posters so I don’t have all the answers, but the website has all the info you’ll need or you can give the festival a call.” We also don’t want you to get caught answering a question you may not know the answer to, or for something that has changed (a lot has changed this year in exciting ways.)

Keep your notes really clear – that’s how you earn your free entry to Filmed by Bike and it’s what we’ll use for the same neighborhood next year.

Don’t forget to put your new locations in geographic order, we’ll need those in order to grant your free ticket.

About This Year’s Poster

Mike King has made more rock and roll posters than anyone in America, and now he has also designed a Filmed by Bike poster.

His new book Maximum Plunder features 1,000 pieces of his work over the years. Too bad the book was compiled before our poster was released!

The poster was printed by the amazing folks at Stumptown Printers using an offset (not digital) process on ancient monolithic machines with soul.

You’ll have so much fun bringing this incredible poster around town.

Watch the Video About Mike’s Work

]]>Submit Your Footage to Our #BuyWhereYouRide Projecthttp://filmedbybike.org/2017/02/18/submit-footage-buywhereyouride-project/
Sat, 18 Feb 2017 21:43:52 +0000http://filmedbybike.org/?p=9079DEADLINE: March 15 Filmed by Bike’s #BuyWhereYouRide campaign We’re working with award winning filmmaker Manny Marquez to produce a series of shorty mashups about our love for local bike shops. Manny comes from a strong film background, but fell in love with cycling when sent on assignment to shoot the Tour de France. As he...

DEADLINE: March 15

Filmed by Bike’s #BuyWhereYouRide campaign

We’re working with award winning filmmaker Manny Marquez to produce a series of shorty mashups about our love for local bike shops. Manny comes from a strong film background, but fell in love with cycling when sent on assignment to shoot the Tour de France. As he started intensely at the cyclists on screen, he was captivated by the sport and now rides regularly with his cycling family of Dirty Fingers Bike Shop in Hood River, Oregon. [ Read our profile on Manny Marquez ]

Seeking Your Footage

These short pieces will be a barrage of footage from local bike shops. We’re asking filmmakers to send in their footage. If yours is used, you’ll get credit in this project. See below for how to submit your footage.